


you're all that i believe in

by LunarExo



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/F, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Link (Legend of Zelda) Uses Sign Language, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 02:24:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21129230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarExo/pseuds/LunarExo
Summary: In the aftermath of it all, sometimes all they can do is love, and love, and love.





	you're all that i believe in

They’d been kissing for at least twenty minutes, going no further and feeling no need to. It’s comfortable, and Zelda feels more like the concept of ‘home’ than much else has in Hyrule since he first woke up. He still doesn’t remember much of his life before the calamity hit, but with only a handful of people left from before regardless, he feels no guilt in giving up on recollection. It isn’t like it mattered that much, he’s infatuated by the princess all the same. 

But she’s not all that has captured his attention, and guilt gnaws at his stomach when he remembers again what he so desperately wants to ask her, what he needs her approval for. 

He must have been making a face, Zelda pulling away from him, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. “Something’s on your mind, isn’t it?” He nods thoughtlessly, exhaling a held breath when she kisses his cheek. “Will you tell me?”

He nods again, hands curling uncertainly around themselves as he tries to think of the best way to word his thoughts. When he does sign, it’s slow, enough that he can see Zelda straining to make sense of the words. _“I think I have… Feelings for another person.”_

Zelda’s gaze shifts up to his eyes, a kind smile on her face as she tries to soothe him, “Oh! Oh Link, we agreed that was alright, you don’t have to feel guilty—” he smiles at her enthusiasm in comforting him, but Link still lifts his hand to pat her cheek, drawing her attention back to his hands. 

_“It’s prince Sidon.”_

Immediately, her expression falls, face sharp with understanding. “…Ah. I understand. That is... Difficult.” He winces at her wording, Zelda quick to laugh nervously in response, suddenly infected with the same uncertainty as him. She’s even quicker to silence herself, both of them sitting in the quiet of an empty room, an empty castle, words cast from their mind. 

When she speaks again, she sounds sad. “…Mipha would understand. You barely remember her, and regardless, it’s been…” She goes quiet again, unable to finish her thought, while Link brings her hands close and kisses them softly. He knows, despite his forgotten history with Mipha, that Zelda cared for her too, and he knows now that this hurts for her more than him.

_“Would the Zora hate me for it?”_

“Perhaps. Most likely. But, frankly, that isn’t of your concern, if you were going to act on these feelings. Sidon and I, we’d be the ones to smooth it over.”

_“And what would I do?”_

“Mm, stand there and look pretty?” She flicks him in the forehead, before pressing a kiss to the injury. “It’s about time I had a chance to be involved in the politics of my own kingdom, even if it is just so the champion of Hyrule can fool around with royalty.”

Link flushes, a smile spreading across his face. It was more comforting than he’d thought it’d be to know he had her support, it only made him more sure in his decision to turn to her so quickly.

* * *

Link comes home glowing, bite marks on his shoulder and thighs and an unmistakably smug grin that Zelda can’t help but laugh at. “How was it, great hero?”

He’s glowing, but also clearly dazed, turning to Zelda with a bright grin as he confidently signs, _“big.”_

She bursts out laughing properly at that, only stopping when Link approaches and kisses the top of her head, smelling exactly like the clean waters of Zora’s domain. “Big? You awful pervert! And look at you!” Scoffing, she traced her fingers along some of the marks, still barely holding in more surprised laughter as she scolded him, “you won’t be able to be seen in public like that, does the prince have no shred of decency?”

_“It isn’t his fault, I told him to.”_

“Do you have no sense of decency either?” She rolled her eyes, hands migrating to pat his cheeks, “ridiculous… Both ridiculous, you really are perfect for each other.”

* * *

Zelda stopped in her pacing entirely, turning to Link with wide, worried eyes. “Would it even be right to have a funeral ceremony a century after their passings? The people of Hyrule, do they care? Would it hurt them?” She gripped the papers in her hand tightly, knuckles turning white with her force. 

Link stroked his hand over those knuckles, smoothing over them until her grip loosened. _“It’s your family. Our friends.”_

She exhaled, looking down at the proposals in her hand once more. “I suppose… Closure is important. You’re right. It’s okay, we’re okay, Hyrule is okay, we can grieve…” Zelda looked so worn out, older than she had any right to be as she forced herself to look composed. “And you’ll be there as well…”

It wasn’t surprising that she’d come to rely on Link over time—it’d be hard not to grow attached to one of the few people left from before the Calamity—but some part of her was still surprised at how close they’d grown. She could still remember the hot burn of shame at being assigned a knight to follow her around, wielding a flashy sword, the frustration of feeling treated so incapable by her father that he’d give her a knight the same age as her. It felt insulting at the time.

But now… She couldn’t imagine a world without him. Without his breathy laugh, the way his hands moved to speak, the comforting encirclement of arms around her when she was afraid. Even now, she could see the concern on his face, born only from an understanding of how isolated they both were from the rest of Hyrule, still trapped a century in the past.

…The closure would be good for them both.

* * *

Link adjusted the bands of metal on his arms, shifting until they rested comfortably below the tender dip of his armpit. He moved, throwing punches and kicks to ensure nothing would fall out of place in a scuffle. Only when he was sure he wouldn’t flash anyone during a fight did he turn to Zelda, signing to her, _“how do I look?”_

Pausing in her own half-dressed state, she eyed him up and down, landing on the smug expression on his face before scoffing at him. “you look like someone who thinks he’s more attractive than he really is.”

Quickly offended, Link lifted his veil only to stick his tongue out childishly, hands moving as it fluttered back into place, _“Sidon likes it.”_

“Does he? I’m not surprised. You could show up wearing nothing but a potato sack and he’d be infatuated with your adventurous fashion sense. I wouldn’t take his word for much. Regardless, Chief Riju said you could wear the voe armor—_should_ wear the voe armor, if you’d like. We won’t be inside the city walls.”

_“I know, but I like it too.”_

“Link, it’s just cloth, if you get hit there’s nothing protecting you from a serious injury,” Zelda turned away from him again, carefully placing the topaz earrings on. 

Link rolled his eyes, walking up behind her to adjust her top, stopping only to sign in the mirror, _“then I won’t get hit.”_

He was right, in a sense. Link was more than talented enough to avoid most hits, and even in the case of an injury there were more than enough options to get him back onto his feet—Zelda would never travel so far from the castle without at least one bottled fairy—but something about the comment made her blood run cold, her conversational tone falling flat. “But what if you do?”

Link bristled, looking offended. His expression softened then, stepping forwards to smooth his hands down Zelda’s arms before he spoke, _“I won’t die on you again.”_

She let out a shaky laugh, ducking her head to hide the blood rising in her cheeks with the sudden aching pain in her gut, the cold that extended outwards. The memories, of blonde hair caked with blood, eyes closed in a façade of peaceful rest, “I don’t know what I’d do if you did—I can’t… I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”

* * *

Zelda sighed, draping herself over Link’s thighs, “Mipha was so beautiful! I miss her as well, I really do. Sometimes, I can still hear her voice when I close my eyes, holding my hands, telling me to be more careful…” The flush on her cheeks had risen, no longer merely red from drink, until Sidon coughed to get her attention.

“Mipha… She was only courting Link, wasn’t she? You mean to tell me you were involved as well?”

Zelda waved her hand dismissively at him, “yes, well. I wouldn’t say _involved_. More like… Collateral damage. She wasn’t trying to do anything to me, but there I was anyway!” Her comments made Link laugh, breathy and light. “I’d say it runs in your family though, being invested in our great champion, so I take no offence. I can’t blame her for having good taste,” from her place in Link’s lap, she found his hand and pressed a tender kiss to it. 

Sidon frowned, finger raised as he tried to articulate through the haze of drunkenness in his mind. “then he’s merely irresistible, there’s no need to pin it on our family. All of Hyrule is infatuated with our great hero.”

Riju piped in, still holding the bottles she was using to mix their drinks. “Not me, thank you very much.”

Sidon looked affronted on Link’s behalf, while Link began to laugh more clearly, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter, drink-wobbly hands signing at her, _“your honesty is much appreciated, Chief Riju._”

* * *

The pools at Zora’s Domain weren’t naturally warmed, but Sidon had the powerful sway of royalty and Link knew how to light a fire _very well_ and nobody was going to dare stop them. The act was necessary during Link’s longer visits anyway, it was the only way to make being submerged in water for so long bearable. Of course, he could have simply requested to stay somewhat dry on land—but the warmth made Sidon grow sleepy and pliant, letting Link rest on his mammoth chest while his voice grew low with sleepiness and his words became increasingly loose. He knew how to fill a silence well, endlessly entertaining Link. “—they insist their interest is merely historical, but I can’t help but feel there is something less chaste in their sudden interest in Hylian culture. I daresay you may have usurped many of my would-be fans, although I’m not surprised in the slightest.”

Still, there was more than one way to spend an evening. Mindful not to jab Sidon in the side with his elbow, Link rolled onto his stomach and settled comfortably, finally able to see those warm amber eyes gazing shamelessly at him. It took a bit of maneuvering, but he freed his hands, signing smoothly. _“They aren’t spying on us, are they?”_

Sidon blinked, like the thought had never even crossed his mind. He shook his head frantically a moment later, “no, goodness no! I worry sometimes that they may bombard you with an excess of attention, but _spy?”_

He didn’t think so either, really. But Sidon’s strong refusal was a perfect setup, a coy grin curling his lips upwards. _“Why not take advantage of our privacy then?”_

The sleepy haze in Sidon’s face fell entirely, his pupils dilating, pushing away the amber of his iris’ as he looked Link up and down. He preened under the attention, back arching, and Sidon laughed. “You can merely ask if you want to be intimate, my love.”

Link kisses him instead, his hands smoothing down Sidon’s face, holding him still.

* * *

They lie together after, in a mimicry of their earlier pose. But Link is comfortably sore, and when he brushes his fingers across one of the _many_ bites lining his skin Sidon smiles with all his teeth, exuding pride at a job well done. 

He supposed Link would have to give him that—his hands were still shaking too hard to sign anything more difficult to decipher than Sidon’s name, the familiar sign he’d made for his lover etched into both their minds. 

Sidon’s smile grows softer the longer they look at each other, and Link kisses the air in his direction, too lazy and worn out to make the long trek up to his lips. Playful, Sidon mimes catching the kiss in midair, craning his chin outwards until Link laughs for him, his cheeks warm.

* * *

Link is chopping vegetables in his kitchen, in his home. Zelda sits at the dinner table, her research notes and the Sheikah slate laid out in front of her. A moment ago she’d been ruminating over some thought, perhaps a hypothesis, her teeth chewing absentmindedly on the end of her pen. Now she looks at Link, her eyebrows furrowing with guilt. “You’re quite sure you don’t want my help?”

He lifted the cutting board, the vegetables dumped into a sturdy pot already near full, a whole raw bird sat in the centre, everything surrounded in the beginnings of a thick curry. Then he turns to Zelda, shaking his head as he sets the knife down and lifts his hand, _“I want to do this. You relax.”_

They’d been staying in his house for a week now. Link had bought it in the moment, so overwhelmed with emotions he couldn’t name. But once he had it, safe and refurbished and distinctly not torn down, he’d had little time and little reason to use it. When he was with Zelda they travelled, visiting stables across the land, re-establishing long worn connections in the face of the Calamity’s loss. And when they were apart—when Riju claimed her attention, when busy days apart demanded too much effort for them to seek each other—Link found himself in Zora’s Domain. 

He didn’t care for sleeping alone, not after a hundred years of it.

The weeks they travelled turned to months, and by the time a year had passed they knew there was no delaying the inevitable. The still ruined, well, _ruins_ of Hyrule Castle. There were the memories associated, but more than that they knew the delay was more from the headache of actually beginning the work of rebuilding the monumental structure. 

It was a nightmare. Link had brought every builder and city planner he knew, and even more came through proxies. Bolson had connections, Hudson had connections, Sidon had connections, and every disparate governing state wanted a say in how the castle was rebuilt, if only to ensure their ambassadors would be comfortable for future governance. His head hurt just remembering the hours of brainstorming and talking, the overloud blare of voices chattering over them, a cacophony of thrumming noise. 

Still, a plan was finalized, Zelda signed off on it, and construction began. 

A year passed, and as the two of them stood before the crumbling gates of Hyrule Castle, Zelda had gasped out, “I’m homeless!”

But Link had a house, and they were making it a home. Link had a house, and Zelda had already dedicatedly dusted off the priceless weapons lining the walls behind his back and Link invited Sidon and Riju for dinner and it was quaint and domestic.

* * *

“I have a surprise for you,” Zelda said, and guided Link away from the dining hall of the newly reconstructed castle. Curious, he held onto her arm as she led him up a staircase, and another staircase, and yet another. 

He released his hold so she could open a door, and then stood aside to allow Link entrance, his mouth falling open. A perfect replica of the Zora’s sleeping pools, water swirling calmly, Link dipped his hand in to find the water warm. A smile spread across his face, hand still submerged, and Zelda smiled right back. “It’s only fair if you’re to call the Domain a second home, he should consider the castle as such in return. That is, if he doesn’t consider anywhere you rest as home.” 

Link crossed the scant distance between them, kissing Zelda tenderly before raising his hands to her face, _“I love it. I love you,”_ he kissed her again, reaffirming his statement. Pulling him closer, her hands sank into his thick hair, fingers tangling in the loose ponytail holding his hair up. She tugged lightly, and he groaned into her mouth, his hands twitching as a thought came to mind. 

Reluctantly, she parted from him, blinking to refocus her sight and see Link’s hands as they signed, _“let me show you how it works,”_ and warmth rose to her cheeks, giddy laughter escaping her. 

To think her dear knight had mastered the art of making the slow brush of hands moving together so sensual. But she still shook her head, more laughter escaping her, “I can’t christen your lover’s bed in his steed!” She paused, and the clear disappointment on Link’s face paused as well, only to dissipate completely when she smiled, “there is, of course, the master bath…”

_“Show me that then,”_ he signed, and then he lifted her around the waist, hiding his smile in her neck as she squealed and giggled and held onto him, legs tight around his neck and arms around his shoulders.

His laughter was silent, a breathy thing tucked away against her warm skin. But hers was resplendent, reverberating down the hall as she guided him, the first bright joy in a place so long lost to darkness. A glimpse of the future and a new beginning, bathed in the soft glow of love.

**Author's Note:**

> i've been sitting on this fic for like eight months so pls. take it. take it from me. i refuse to apologize. 
> 
> title from healing by oh honey aka the quintessential traumatized lovers song


End file.
